Savage model 10 headspace issues

[Dapperdankie]

hey I am new to this forum and forums in general. I have a question about head space on my savage model 10t. It is a cabelas exclusive rifle, accu stock accu trigger and has a 24 inch bull barrel. I will go through everything I have done since I have had the rifle which is about a year. And then I will ask y'alls opinion on fixing the rifle or if anyone has experienced this before. So I bought this rifle and mounted a lucid l5 scope on it about a year ago. And started trying to find what ammo it likes. I have tried federal gold medal 168s,175s black hills 168s and 175s. Pmc x tac match. Australian outback, lake city match. The lake city long range ammo. And a bunch more. Probably 400 rounds. And throughout the whole process. I have noticed the rounds were fairly hard to feed into the chamber and discharge from the chamber after firing. Some the primers fell out the back after shooting. And had some very spotty accuracy And I have never put two and two together about a pressure issue until I started reloading here recently about a month ago. To try to get the right load for the rifle. I started with some hornaday 168s in my once fired brass got ok results I loaded them all to 2.800 over all length staying at least 1.5 grains under the max load of imr 4064 And just yesterday I worked up some some loads with smk 190s. Again staying well under the max load according to sierras reloading manual and loading the to 2.800 over all length My best group was just under 3/4 inch spread at 41.7 grains of powder. At 200 yards. Which was a starting point. But again I noticed some pressure issues. The bolt being hard to open. So I got home and went to check the max over all length of my chamber with the two bullets. And I got around 2.760 multiple times. Taking an empty case fired from the rifle. Resizing just the tip of the case enough to hold the bullet. And put some resizing lube on the bullet to keep it from sticking in the lands. and then chambering the round. And found out with my reloads and factory loads. I have been stuffing .40-.50 into the barrel which made everything click in my mind. Sorry for writing a book but I wanted to give y'all more than enough info to help. I know savages barrel change is extemely easy. And head space is part of that process. Is there a way to adjust the headspace in my rifle? I may take it to a gun smith this week. I'm not really to fond of sending the rifle to savage and being without it for who knows how long. And probably getting it back with the same issues it's had since day 1. If any of y'all could shed some light or wisdom other than how lucky I am I didn't have major pressure issues that would be great. Thanks in advance

 

[Kp321]

Apparently your rifle has a very short throat, which is a separate issue from headspace. Yes, you need to have the headspace checked but you have already verified that it is short throated. A gunsmith can extend the throat quickly with the proper reamer.

 

[boom boom]

I suspect kp321 is correct. Excessive headspace usually causes your brass to stretch and case separation not excessive pressure. It is possible to have too short headspace which would cause high pressure. Take some of your fired brass along for your gunsmith to take a look at. Headspace on a savage is relatively easy to remedy as well as a short throat. You can use Hornady's comparator to diagnose yourself along with cerrosafe for a chamber cast but that would cost about them same as a gunsmith visit.

 

[shooter1niner]

The profile of the bullet would determine if the bullet is engaging the rifling or not. What I would do is clean grease from the chamber/bore, load up some dummies to the length you think is causing the issue, color the bullet with black "sharpie", fit it to the bolt face and slowly chamber it. When you eject check to see if the bullet is engaging the rifling. The bullet will be wiped clean where it touched the lands. Adjust seating die so you are at least .010" off the lands and try some starting loads. For the .308 winchester I like 39 grs. of IMR 3031 with 168 gr. sierra match HPBT. If using military brass reduce powder charge by 2 grains.

 

[Jim Watson]

If you are jamming factory load bullets into the rifling, then the chamber is out of spec.
A gunsmith or the Savage warranty clerk can ream the throat properly.

 

[Dapperdankie]

Thank y'all. I was reading around more last night after I had posted this. And pretty much gathered what y'all are sayin. I haven't had any issues with the brass stretching. Just jamming bullets into the lands. Basically everything I have shot out of it has been like that. I recon imma have it fixed probably by a reputable gun smith in the area. Instead of sending it back to savage. There is way too many stories of people sending their rifles out and getting them back with the same issue. Then I'll basically start my reloading process over and see if I can get the groups I want. Thanks again

 

[cosh]

On the Savage forum - I think there was a mention of some short throated barrels getting out recently. Yes on getting a gunsmith to check the chamber and throat.

 

[Bart B.]

Some of the primers fell out the back after shooting.

That indicates the load developed more peak pressure than SAAMI specs for proof test loads. Well over 89,000 psi. Standard is 62,000 psi.

I've shot proof loads and the fired cases are virtually identical to normally loaded then fired cases. Their primers looked quite normal and didn't fall out on their own.

Don't shoot that ammo in it any more.